Swedish act SHINING was formed by Niklas “Kvarforth” Olsson in 1996. Already with a developed sense of direction to his compositions and expression of wholly negative outlook & emotion, Niklas created some utterly oppressive material for the debut release, the”Submit to Self-destruction” EP in 1998, when Niklas himself was still only 14 years old.

Angst was Shining’s third album and was originally released in 2002. A development of composition was clearly evident here, working in more subtle twists and complexities to the sinister & wholly oppressive suicidal black metal. The work of Shining is intended to reflect the dark & destructive side of the world & human nature.

The album was recorded at The Abyss Studios (Immortal, Marduk & Dimmu Borgir), the famous Swedish recording studio run by Peter Tagtgren, The album was recorded by Tommy Tagtgren. As is somewhat a trademark of the Shining sound, the album retains a hypnotic quality to the riffs mixed with unsettling vocal anguish, along with acoustic passages and expertly handled lead guitar passages. This was also the first Shining album to feature the legendary Hellhammer (Mayhem) on drums.

This edition of “III – Angst” is presented on 180gm heavyweight black vinyl.

Niklas Kvarforth has to undergo some intensive treatment for a back problem that developed during the last tour. He has been told by doctors that he should not travel or perform for the time being until the problem is sorted out, because to do so would risk making it worse. Unfortunately, therefore, Shining has had to postpone the scheduled Finnish tour. Please contact your ticket agencies for refunds if you have already bought your tickets. We will try and reschedule as soon as we can.

SHINING was set to hit the road again on January 22, in Finland as an extension to their previously announced Razors Across Europe tour. The dates were part of the “Feverdreams” events to promote the release of the band’s full-length album “8 ½ – Feberdrömmar I Vaket Tillstånd” which came out on Dark Essence Records at the end of September. So, cancelled shows are:

According to Patricia Thomas Management, Sweden’s SHINING is set to hit the road again at the start of the New Year to undertake four dates in Finland as an extension to their previously announced Razors Across Europe tour. The dates are part of the “Feverdreams” events to promote the release of the band’s full-length album “8 ½ – Feberdrömmar I Vaket Tillstånd” which came out on Dark Essence Records at the end of September. Routing for the Finnish dates as follows:

Other already confirmed dates include Satan’s Convention in Germany in December of this year and Blastfest in Norway in February of next year. Below you will find a full list of SHINING’s confirmed upcoming live appearances

According to Patricia Thomas Management, Swedish film maker Martin Strandberg is set to accompany Niklas Kvarforths’ SHINING on their upcoming headlining European tour where he will film more footage and interviews for the documentary he is making about the band. Work on the documentary, which traces SHINING’s often turbulent history, was begun earlier this year, and is expected to finish in time for a general release towards the end of 2014. A second video teaser featuring CARPATHIAN FOREST’s Nattefrost and Anders Kobro can be seen here:

Whilst being the subject of the documentary, founder and frontman Niklas Kvarforth is keen to emphasize that SHINING itself has no input or influence whatsoever on the content. “The documentary was entirely the idea of Martin Strandberg, and, other than being interviewed for it ourselves, we have no hand in it at all. All we know is that family, friends, former band members and who knows who else are contributing, but what they’re contributing we will have to wait to find out along with everyone else”.

The Razors Across Europe tour will hit the road on the 22nd November, and accompanying SHINING, whose latest release “8 ½ – Feberdrömmar I Vaket Tillstånd” appeared on Dark Essence Records in September, will be fellow management roster members CREST OF DARKNESS from Norway, also touring with their latest release “In the Presence of Death”, as well as Germany’s STERBHAUS. Routing for the tour as follows:

Patricia Thomas Management has issued that When sculptor Spacebrain released “The Dark Side and the Bright Side”, the debut album from his SUCHTHAUS project, in 2011, it was immediately apparent that not only was the music he produced eclectic, but so too were his collaborators, ranging from Maniac (SKITLIV, ex-Mayhem) to CURRENT 93’s David Tibet, Fredrik A. Juell (BURNING RUBBER, BERSERK BASTARDS) and singer Sibob Jawara. Now, with the band’s sophomore album “Motorbrain” taking shape, it seems that the tradition is set to continue, when SHINING’s Niklas Kvarforth dropped by Spacebrain’s Oslo home recently to check in with his old friends, and ended up contributing vocals on one of the new tracks, which also showcases a performance by SUCHTHAUS drummer Hellhammer (MAYHEM). Since Spacebrain likes to “visualise” the band’s music as well, a video for the track, which is titled “Walls of Berlin”, was filmed on the spur of the moment, and can be seen below:

To try and classify SUCHTHAUS’ music is virtually impossible, since the musicians concerned work in a completely unstructured way, drawing on their mood at the time to take the ideas for each track forward, rather than writing set pieces. And, as previously mentioned, each track is enhanced by video, a practice which is unsurprising coming from a musician who started his career as a visual artist. Commenting on the new album, Spacebrain had this to say: “Motorbrain” will be totally different from our debut, “The Dark Side and the Bright Side”, as this time we will be making a pure metal album, but one that focuses on different nuances within the genre. Let’s just say that when we had a band meeting recently we concluded that we’d better hurry up and finish this album because the darker material was not good for our mental health!” Along with Spacebrain on vocals and bass, and Hellhammer on drums, SUCHTHAUS lineup includes co-founder Fruen on vocals and guitars, Ingvar on guitars and AD/HD on bass.

Explaining how his unexpected contribution to “Motorbrain” came about Niklas Kvarforth said: “Last weekend, Hoest (TAAKE) and I were on our way to a studio outside Oslo to do some recording for a project we’re both involved in. We did however have a few hours to kill in the capital before catching our train and ended up meeting some old friends of ours – an evening which unexpectedly resulted in additional recordings in the living room of former SKITLIV bassist Spacebrain for his upcoming SUCHTHAUS album. Spacey filmed some of it, which kinda bothered me at first, but for him… I owe him way more than that. Looking forward to hearing the result.”

A brand new extreme metal festival is set to take place in Bergen, Norway from February 20th-22nd.

With a deep and rich tradition of metal, both as host of the infamous Hole In The Sky festival and the great newcomer Beyond The Gates Festival, it is also the hometown of many great and famous bands from the dearly beloved dark side of metal. The festival will be held in the darkest time of the year. Cold winds and snow will lay the perfect scene for the atmosphere we want to create.

Surrounded by the seven famous mountains, the main venue, USF Verftet, is based right at the dock by the city fjord, and second venue, Garage, is in the heart of town. Bergen is the second biggest city in Norway and counts 250,000 habitants. With a rich cultural tradition alongside the beautiful nature, Blastfest will also have a focus towards the town of Bergen and its history. The promoters want you to see what the town really is. In cooperation with the Viking community and cultural institutions of Bergen they want to bring you a unique experience combining your passion for metal music with nature, history and of course, the Vikings. This may be an indoor festival, but that does not mean they cannot use the whole city as our festival ground.

According to Patricia Thomas Management, Sweden’s SHINING is set to headline the “Razors Over Europe 2013 Tour” (a nod in the direction of the band’s 2007 tour “Razors Across Europe” with URGHEAL) which will take place over 17 dates during November and December of this year. Norwegian Black Metallers CREST OF DARKNESS, who, like management roster-mates SHINING, will be touring with a new album, and Swedish Thrashers STERBHAUS, are set to support the tour which is presented by Catapult Promotion. Routing confirmed so far for the “Razors Over Europe 2013 Tour” as follows:

SHINING is a band that needs no introduction, particularly to fans of Black Metal and DSBM, for whom NIKLAS KVARFORTH’s unruly child has been a yardstick for superb musicianship, skilled writing, and a complete disregard for the artificial rules placed on the genres by a generation of fans who only became aware of Black Metal long after the band was formed back in 1996. Never a band to stick to a repetitive formula when playing live, SHINING’s performances are emotionally charged and “of the moment”, with audiences always wondering what to expect next from one of the scene’s most dynamic frontmen. SHINING has a new full-length album, “8 ½ – Feberdrömmar I Vaket Tillstånd”, due out on Dark Essence Records on the 23rd September, which features guest vocals from some of the elite of Black Metal including ATTILA CSIHAR (MAYHEM, TORMENTOR), MANIAC (SKITLIV, EX MAYHEM), GAAHL (GOD SEED, WARDRUNA, TRELLDOM, EX GORGOROTH), FAMINE (PESTE NOIRE) and PEHR LARSSON (ALFAHANNE), a track from which can be heard below:

CREST of DARKNESS is another band with a long history behind it – 18 years to be precise. With six full-length albums under their belts, CREST OF DARKNESS this year saw Kickass Metal webzine place two of those albums in first and second positions in their “Norwegian Heavy Metal Albums of All Time” feature. Combining elements from both Black and Death Metal together with founder Ingar Amlien’s interest in Vampirism and Satanic ideology and his passion for sonic brutality, CREST OF DARKNESS’ sound has grown in power and intensity over the years and the recent addition of a young new guitarist has breathed a renewed sense of enthusiasm and a fresh outlook to the band. CREST OF DARKNESS’ sixth-full length album, “In the Presence of Death”, was released on My Kingdom Music earlier this year. More information about CREST OF DARKNESS can be found at https://www.facebook.com/crestofdarknessofficial

Crest Of Darkness

Formed in 2007 in Stockholm, STERBHAUS is a four-piece thrash/death combo that set out to prove that quality Metal combined with a neatly weighed dose of humour can blend perfectly. Having completely revitalized itself STERBHAUS now brings to the stage humour with sarcastic tongue-in-cheek wit and verbal slaughter that is hell-bent on earning the band a smirk or two. STERBHAUS is all about waging sonic warfare against trends and stereotyping. What you see is what you get, and what you get is music founded on the four cornerstones of Heavy Metal, Thrash Metal, Death Metal and Black Metal. “Angels For Breakfast…And God For Lunch”, the debut album from STERBHAUS, was released on Killhead Productions in 2012. More information about STERBHAUS can be found at http://www.sterbhaus.com